Exterior door handle arrangement for a motor vehicle

Abstract

An exterior door handle arrangement (1) for a motor vehicle includes an electric door closing apparatus (2) accommodated in a vehicle door that includes door handle (10) with a fixed gripping handle (4) and a handle bezel (5). The handle bezel (5) covers the gripping handle (4) and a lock barrel (6) and releases at least the lock barrel (6) in an emergency. An emergency unlocking device has a pull device (13) to actuate an emergency opening mechanism. The handle bezel (5) is mounted pivotably to the gripping handle (4). The handle bezel (5) is locked on the gripping handle (4) in a closed position and is released in an emergency unlocking position to pivot relative to the gripping handle (4). Pulling on the handle bezel (5) actuates the pull device (13) for mechanical actuation of the emergency opening mechanism of the vehicle door.

Claims

1. An exterior door handle arrangement for a motor vehicle, comprising an electric door closing apparatus that is accommodated in a vehicle door and has a lock barrel, a door handle that has a fixed gripping handle and a handle cover that is configured to at least partially cover the gripping handle and the lock barrel and releases at least the lock barrel in the case of emergency unlocking of the vehicle door, a pulling means connected to the lock barrel to permit emergency unlocking of the vehicle door, and a pivotable deflecting lever connected to the pulling means, the pivotable deflecting lever being configured and arranged to interact with the handle cover, wherein the handle cover is mounted pivotably relative to the gripping handle and is locked on the gripping handle in a closed position, and the handle cover being configured so that a pulling on the handle cover interacts with the pivotable deflecting lever to actuate the pulling means, to release the handle cover from the gripping handle and to enable mechanical actuation of the lock barrel for permitting emergency opening of the vehicle door.

2. The exterior door handle arrangement of claim 1, wherein the handle cover has opposite first and second ends, the first end of the handle cover being mounted pivotably with respect to the fixed gripping handle, the first end of the handle cover including an actuating means that is configured to actuate the deflecting lever.

3. The exterior door handle arrangement of claim 2, wherein the handle cover has a handle bracket on which the actuating means is arranged.

4. The exterior door handle arrangement of claim 3, wherein the actuating means comprises an actuating cam that is integral with the handle bracket.

5. The exterior door handle arrangement of claim 1, further comprising a bearing bracket on the door closing apparatus and to which the gripping handle is fastened.

6. The exterior door handle arrangement of claim 5, wherein the deflecting lever is pivotable relative to the bearing bracket.

7. The exterior door handle arrangement of claim 1, wherein the gripping handle has an access opening for the lock barrel, the access opening being covered completely by the handle cover in the closed position of the handle cover.

8. The exterior door handle arrangement of claim 1, further comprising a button field or a sensor surface on an inner side of the gripping handle for generating an electric switching operation for unlocking the door closing apparatus in response to an approach and/or a contact of a hand of a user.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an exterior door handle arrangement for a motor vehicle in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a horizontal section through the exterior door handle arrangement of FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 3 is a plan view of the exterior door handle arrangement in a closed position of a handle bezel.

(4) FIG. 4 is a plan view of the exterior door handle arrangement in an emergency unlocking position of the handle bezel.

(5) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the exterior door handle arrangement in the closed position of the handle bezel.

(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the exterior door handle arrangement in the emergency unlocking position of the handle bezel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, an exterior door handle arrangement 1 for a motor vehicle comprises an electric door closing apparatus 2 having a lock barrel 6 that is mounted fixedly in a correspondingly shaped receiving region of a vehicle door. On a visible side, the electric door closing apparatus 2 is covered by an exterior door panel 3 of the vehicle door. Furthermore, the exterior door handle arrangement 1 has a two-piece door handle 10 comprised of a fixed gripping handle 4 and a handle bezel 5 that can be pivoted out relative to the gripping handle 4. The exterior door handle arrangement 1 is configured to permit emergency unlocking of the vehicle door.

(8) A recessed grip 30 is formed in the exterior door panel 3 to facilitate the gripping of the fixed gripping handle 4 during opening or closing of the vehicle door. A front end of the recessed grip 30 is adjoined by a first cutout 31 of the exterior door panel 3. A second cutout 32 of the exterior door panel 3 adjoins a rear end of the recessed grip 30. The second cutout 32 is shaped so that the lock barrel 6 can be guided through the second cutout 32 during assembly and, in the process, can be fixed in a lock barrel receptacle 20 of the electric door closing apparatus 2.

(9) In a front region, the gripping handle 4 has a first holding section 40 with a projection 41 that is guided through the first cutout 31 of the exterior door panel 3 during the assembly of the gripping handle 4. In a rear region, the gripping handle 4 has a second holding section 42 that comprises three latching projections 420, of which only two can be seen in FIG. 1. The second cutout 32 has three latching recesses 320, into which the latching projections 420 of the second holding section 42 of the gripping handle 4 can engage in a latching manner during the assembly to bring about prefixing of the exterior door handle 4 on the exterior door panel 3. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the closing apparatus 2 has a bearing bracket 21 on a rear side that faces away from the exterior door panel 3, and the gripping handle 4 is fixed on the bearing bracket 21 by two fastening screws 7, 8.

(10) To unlock the vehicle door, a button field BF is provided on an inner side 43 of the gripping handle 4 and is connected to the electric door closing apparatus 2. As an alternative, a sensor surface that is connected to the electric door closing apparatus 2 can also be on the inner side 43 of the gripping handle 4 for this purpose. An electric switching operation is initiated by an interaction of the hand of a user with the button field or with the sensor field, in particular by way of an approach and/or contact. The electric switching operation causes the electric door closing apparatus 2 to unlock the vehicle door. The vehicle door can then be opened by subsequently pulling on the door handle 10. The opening of the vehicle door in the above-described way is possible only if a user carries a corresponding access authorization device with himself/herself, such as an identification device that can be a radio remote control or a radio key. Together with the electric door closing apparatus 2, the access authorization device forms at least one part of a security system of the motor vehicle to prevent opening of the vehicle door by unauthorized persons.

(11) A capacitive sensor means 50 is provided on an outer side of the handle bezel 5 and is connected to the electric door closing apparatus 2. An approach and/or contact by the hand of a user initiates an electric switching operation in the case of a closed vehicle door so that the electric door closing apparatus 2 locks the vehicle door. It is likewise necessary for the access authorization device to be carried for the locking operation to check the access authorization of the user. Remote locking of the vehicle door can take place if the access authorization device is, for example, a radio remote control or a radio key.

(12) The access authorization device, the electric door closing apparatus 2 or the on-board electronics of the motor vehicle might not function properly. In this situation, an emergency unlocking of the vehicle door is carried out by an emergency unlocking device. An emergency key can be inserted into the lock barrel 6 that is arranged within the closing device 2 to make locking or unlocking of the vehicle door possible. An access to the lock barrel 6 is made possible by an access opening 421 within the second holding section 42 of the gripping handle 4.

(13) The handle bezel 5 is mounted to be pivoted relative to the gripping handle 4 by means of a bearing axis 11, and is shaped to cover an outer side of the gripping handle 4 completely, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. At this time, the second holding section 42 with the access opening 421 for the lock barrel 6 is in a closed position so that the lock barrel 6 is not accessible from the outside. As an alternative, the handle bezel 5 can be shaped to cover the outer side of the gripping handle 4 only partially.

(14) The two-piece embodiment of the door handle 10 with the handle bezel 5 that can be pivoted relative to the fixed gripping handle 4 is used for the emergency unlocking of the electric door closing apparatus 2. In the closed position, the handle bezel 5 is latched and connected to the gripping handle 4 and completely or partially covers the gripping handle 4, including the access opening 421, via which the emergency key can be plugged into the lock barrel 6. However, an unlocking device, such as a mechanical button or a latching system, is provided on the handle bezel 5 and is accessible at a rear part of the gripping handle 4. The unlocking device can be brought selectively out of engagement for releasing the handle bezel 5 from the gripping handle 4 and, as a result, the handle bezel 5 can be lifted up from the gripping handle 4 and transferred it into an emergency unlocking position, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6.

(15) A handle bracket 52 is formed integrally at a front region of the handle bezel 5 and is mounted pivotably by means of the bearing axis 11. The handle bracket 52 includes an actuating cam 53. The emergency unlocking device further comprises a deflecting lever 12 that is mounted pivotably on the bearing bracket 21, and a pulling means 13, which is configured as a Bowden cable in the present case. The pulling means 13 has a first end 130 connected to the deflecting lever 12 and a second end 131 connected to a mechanical emergency opening mechanism of the vehicle door. The pulling means 13 mechanically actuates the emergency opening mechanism of the vehicle door. In the emergency unlocking position of the handle bezel 5, in which the handle bezel 5 is pivoted out in relation to the fixed gripping handle 4, a user can exert a pulling force on the handle bezel 5 to pivot the handle bezel 5 farther toward the outside relative to the gripping handle 4. While the handle bezel 5 is being pulled, the actuating cam 53 interacts with the deflecting lever 12 and actuates the deflecting lever 12. The pulling means 13 is connected to the deflecting lever 12 and actuates the emergency opening mechanism of the vehicle door so that mechanical emergency unlocking of the vehicle door takes place and the vehicle door can be opened.

(16) The pivoting of the handle bezel 5 with respect to the gripping handle 4 provides access to the access opening 421 of the second holding section 420, and thus provides access to the lock barrel 6 from the outside. An emergency key can be inserted into the lock barrel 6 via the access opening 421 so that the vehicle door can be selectively locked or unlocked by actuation of the emergency key.